Reinforced finger seal for shot blast cabinets and the like

Abstract

A finger seal is disclosed for use in conjunction with shot blasting operations. The seal is formed of polyurethane or similar materials which are resistant to wear from shot blasting. The seals are provided with a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing ribs to increase their strength and effectiveness in preventing the escape of shot from an enclosure.

I claim: 
     
       1. A finger seal for use in preventing the escape of particulate through an opening in a blast treatment device comprising: a. a reinforced mounting portion adapted to receive a bolt therethrough for securing said seal over said opening,   b. an elongated body portion extending downwardly from said mounting portion, the length of said body portion being selected to substantially cover the vertical height of said opening, the width of said body portion being less than said length,   c. a plurality of raised reinforcing ribs provided on at least one side of said body portion along the length dimension thereof, each of said ribs spaced from and running parallel to the remaining ribs, said ribs tapering down and terminating at a point in proximity to the bottom of said body portion,   whereby said seal is relatively rigid along the upper and middle body portion due to the raised ribs thereby to deflect particulate and is relatively flexible along the lower body portion due to the termination of the ribs thereby to permit entry of parts into said blast treatment device.   
     
     
       2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said finger seal is a one piece molded unit. 
     
     
       3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said finger seal is formed from polyurethane to minimize wear from particulate impinging on the body portion of said seal. 
     
     
       4. The device according to claim 1 wherein at least two raised reinforcing ribs are provided on each side of said body portion. 
     
     
       5. The device according to claim 4 wherein the ribs on one side of said body portion are displaced transversely with respect to said ribs on the other side of said body portion.